PROJECTS

Check out the features' teasers. Watch the shorts. Buy the DVDs. Read the credits and accolades.

About

2000-2003

Our Humble Beginnings

We never set out to make nature films – it just happened. With a deep-rooted background in art Robert had simply turned to video as a new medium for self-expression and creative exploration. At the time we were also just getting back into serious hiking and backpacking, so he armed himself with a mini-DV and hauled it around on all our trips in order to document them for ourselves. Eventually, he decided to take it a step further and began learning to edit so he could turn some of this footage into short films. As an accomplished artist he already had a firm understanding of the interplay of color, form, texture, and composition – and now, as a filmmaker he was able to add the dimensions of movement and sound to his work.

Wanderings, a short film shot during a backpack in Washington's Enchantment Lakes; 2007 screened at the Hazel Wolf and the Burke Museum.

2007-2009

Climb On

We took up mountain climbing (though we had already bagged Mt Whitney in 2003) and summited all of Washington's volcanoes (just coming up short on Glacier Peak), plus Mt Olympus on the Olympic Peninsula.

2009-2010

In Full Swing

The Irate Birdwatcher, our second feature. Screened at venues throughout Washington, including the 2010 Port Townsend Film Festival; received the 2010 Silver Sierra Film Award, Environmental Film Competition at the Yosemite Film Festival; aired on KCTS 9 TV, Seattle, WA; screened at the Rossland Mountain Film Festival, Rossland, BC Canada; and received Honorable Mention for Creative Approach at the 6th Annual Montana CINE International Film Festival. Available on DVD.

Right Here, Right Now, our first extreme sport short. Received the 2010 El Capitan Short Film Award at the Yosemite Film Festival; the Seven Summits Award for Documentaries at the Mountain Film Festival, Mammoth, CA; and screened at the 2009 Rossland Mountain Film Festival, Rossland, BC Canada.

2012-2013

International Recognition

FreeRider, our second extreme sport film. Screened and premiered at the 7th International Free Ride Film Festival, St-Lary-Soulan, France; received the Sir Edmund Hillary Award for Shorts at the Mountain Film Festival, Mammoth, CA; screened at the 10th Annual New Zealand Mountain Film Festival; received Best Documentary Short at the Yosemite International Film Festival; and screened throughout Western USA and Canada, including the Seattle True Independent Film Festival and the WSSN Film Showcase in 2013.

September 1, 2014

Still Going Strong

Robert retired from his full-time job as a creative director at a Web consulting firm. We are now free to go wherever and whenever we are called.

Team

We have a vision...to produce world-class films that encourage respect and appreciation for the wilderness.

Crest Pictures is the vision of husband and wife team Robert and Kathy Chrestensen. We both have a passion for nature and choose to produce films that are outside the box – with an artistic bent. We aspire to evoke feelings of respect and appreciation for the natural world and to send a poignant message for wilderness protection. Our hope is that the viewer will be moved to embrace the role of nature's steward, not its conqueror. And finally, we strive to maintain the highest degree of quality, beauty, and integrity in our work.

Dedicated to Wilderness Preservation

Robert Chrestensen

Videography - Editing - Design

An accomplished filmmaker, living and working in the Seattle area for over 30 years. His artistic and occupational careers span four decades and has gained him much respect in the disciplines of filmmaking, painting, graphic and web design, and art direction. In 2000 he turned to filmmaking for self-expression and creative exploration – adding the elements of movement, sound and rhythm to his artistry. His expertise includes camera operation, video editing, sound mixing, and DVD authoring. He considers himself a conceptual artist, whose work is heavily influenced by nature and structure. An acute eye, intuitive sense of composition, and impromptu style translates into unique and thought-provoking imagery.